It was reported that patients with
chest pain may end up with deadly heart attack because the ECG
(electrocardiogram) could not supply diagnostic result for the doctor in time to
save the patients.

Nonetheless, a screening program
using 12-lead ECG for young athletes in Italy has reduced the sudden cardiac
deaths by almost 90 percent, according to a report from Heartwise. The study was
conducted by researchers from the University Of Padua Medical School and
published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Launched in 1983, a nationwide
screening program using 12-lead ECG was employed to track the athletes in Veneto
region of the country. The researchers analyzed the changes in incidence rates
and causes of sudden cardiovascular death among 42,386 young athletes (aged 12
to 35 years) undergoing pre-participation screening between 1979 and 2004.

During the study period, the
annual incidence rate of sudden cardiovascular death in athletes dropped by 89
percent, from 3.6 per 100,000 person-years in 1979 to 1980 to 0.4 per 100,000
person-years in 2003 to 2004. In comparison, the incidence of sudden death among
the unscreened non-athletic population did not change significantly during the
same period of time.

The beneficial data collected from
the study is very encouraging, and the chief researcher, felt that the screening
strategies should be picked up by other countries for the prevention of sudden
death in athletes.

This suggestion was not widely
agreeable by other doctors or experts in other countries to establish the
importance of routine ECG in the screening process. Firstly, this is the first
assessment of the long-term impact of a screening program on mortality from
sudden cardiovascular death. Secondly, most of the reduced death rate was due to
fewer cases of sudden death from cardiomyopathy.

Cardiomyopathy is a serious heart
disease in which thickening of the heartís walls can lead to abnormal heart
rhythm. This can cause sudden and unexpected death in athletes. It can be
difficult to detect and many athletes train for years before the problem arises.

The problem can, however, be
picked up by an ECG, according to the researchers of the study. Those with
cardiomyopathy are restricted from competitive sports and receive regular
clinical follow-up, beta-block therapy and an implantable cardioverter
defibrillator (ICD). ICD is a device that can monitor and correct abnormal heart
rhythms It is, however, not affordable by everyone with its cost of around
US$35,000 a piece.

The researchers hope that the
study can help in the design of more focused screening strategies and want to
refine the management of young competitive athletes with cardiovascular disease.